Solid electrolyte gas sensor element and gas sensor

ABSTRACT

A gas sensor element includes: an electrolyte body; a target gas chamber; a reference gas chamber; a first electrode coming into contact with the electrolyte in the target gas chamber; a second electrode coming into contact with the electrolyte body in the reference gas chamber so as to hold the electrolyte body between the first electrode and the second electrode; a diffusion layer arranged to come into contact with the electrolyte body and configured to deliver the target gas to the target gas chamber; and a shielding layer arranged to come into contact with the diffusion layer so as to arrange the diffusion layer between the electrolyte body and the shielding layer. At least one of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer is provided with a concave section depressed from an interface side with the diffusion layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a division of application Ser. No. 14/412,473, filed Jan. 2,2015, which is a national phase application of International ApplicationNo. PCT/IB2013/001960, filed Sep. 10, 2013, and claims the priority ofJapanese Application No. 2012-224215, filed Oct. 9, 2012, the contentsof all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gas sensor element for detecting aspecific gas concentration in a measured gas (target gas) and a gassensor using the same.

2. Description of Related Art

In an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine and the like for avehicle, a gas sensor is disposed to detect a specific gas concentration(oxygen concentration, for example) in a target gas, such as an exhaustgas (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-240559 (JP08-240559 A), for example). Such a gas sensor houses a gas sensorelement that has, for example, an oxygen ion conductive solidelectrolyte body, a measuring electrode and a reference electrode thatare respectively provided in one surface and the other surface of thesolid electrolyte body, and a diffusion layer that covers the measuringelectrode and allows the target gas to permeate therethrough.

Among conventional gas sensor elements, the element is configured suchthat an outer surface thereof comes into contact with the exhaust gas.However, water vapor contained in the exhaust gas is condensed andbecomes water drops when the internal combustion engine is started, andthere is a case where the water drops are splashed together with theexhaust gas on the element. Here, the gas sensor element is used under aheated condition at a high temperature so that the solid electrolytebody is activated. Accordingly, a significant thermal shock is appliedto the element due to adhesion of the water drops, which possibly causeswater-induced cracking. In addition, a poisoning substance thatadversely affects sensing performance may be contained in the exhaustgas. Therefore, JP 08-240559 A and Japanese Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2012-93330 (JP 2012-93330 A) disclose an oxygenconcentration detector in which a surface protective layer with waterrepellency is provided on an outer side of the element and porous layersare laminated to prevent heat transfer and to catch the poisoningsubstance.

Although techniques in the above documents presuppose use of theprotective layer with water repellency, there is a possibility that thewater repellency cannot be maintained sufficiently with time. In otherwords, when constituent particles of the surface protective layer arecoated with the poisoning substance (a particulate oxide, for example)that is contained in the exhaust gas, the water repellency thereof ispossibly degraded. Furthermore, the function of the porous layer tocatch the poisoning substance becomes ineffective for the poisoningsubstance that is dissolved in a liquid (water, for example).

Fuel is basically made of hydrocarbons but also contains variousimpurities such as nitrides, water, mineral elements, and metallicelements derived from an additive. These impurities turn into acomposite/mixed compound (the poisoning substance) that adverselyaffects defecting performance of the gas sensor and that generallyexists in the exhaust gas. The above poisoning substance and water forma complex system in an exhaust system of the internal combustion enginedue to factors such as the structure, combustion control, and a propertyof the fuel. In order to solve the above, plural inventions havereported improvement of the protective layer by taking wetness andpoisoning into account. However, a sufficient effect has not beenachieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a gas sensor element that exhibitssuperior poisoning resistance against a poisoning substance that isdissolved in a liquid and then enters the inside of the gas sensorelement and maintains sensor performance in an initial period, and alsoprovides a gas sensor using the same.

The gas sensor element according to a first aspect of the presentinvention is the gas sensor element for detecting a concentration of atarget gas. The gas sensor element includes: an electrolyte body; atarget gas chamber to which the target gas is introduced; a referencegas chamber to which a reference gas as a basis for a concentration ofthe target gas is introduced; a first electrode provided in the targetgas chamber to come into contact with the electrolyte; a secondelectrode provided in the reference gas chamber to come into contactwith the electrolyte body, the second electrode being provided to holdthe electrolyte body between the first electrode and the secondelectrode; a diffusion layer arranged to come into contact with theelectrolyte body and configured to deliver the target gas to the targetgas chamber; and a shielding layer arranged to come into contact withthe diffusion layer so as to arrange the diffusion layer between theelectrolyte body and the shielding layer. At least one of theelectrolyte body and the shielding layer is provided with a concavesection depressed from a surface coming into contact with the diffusionlayer.

According to the first aspect, because the soluble poisoning substancethat is contained in the exhaust gas can be caught in the concavesection that is provided in a layer that comes into contact with thediffusion layer at an upper layer or a lower layer thereof, it ispossible to remove the influence of the target gas that responds to theelectrode on the atmosphere the electrode. Accordingly, deteriorationwith time hardly occurs.

In the first aspect, when a target gas take-in side that takes in thetarget gas is seen from the target gas chamber in a plan view, and thelength of a wall surface of the target gas chamber that faces the targetgas take-in side is set as a chamber width, a range of the concavesection in a direction of the chamber width may contain a range in thechamber width.

According to the above aspect, the poisoning substance passes through adiffusion area with the concave section before reaching the target gaschamber. Therefore, a probability of the poisoning substance that passesthrough the diffusion layer to be caught in the concave section beforereaching the target gas chamber is increased.

In the above aspect, a wall surface of the concave section may beperpendicular to an interface thereof with the diffusion layer.

In the above aspect, because a three-phase interface is formed, aprobability of the poisoning substance to be caught is furtherincreased.

The gas sensor according to a second aspect of the present inventionincludes the gas sensor element according to the first aspect.

According to the second aspect, it is possible to obtain an effectachieved by the gas sensor element according to the first aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of the present invention in whichFIG. 1A is a perspective plan view for showing a structure of a gassensor element and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along theline IB-IB of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 shows the embodiment of the present invention which shows asimulation result of infusing behavior of water from a diffusion layerto a chamber;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show the embodiment of the present invention in whichFIG. 3A is a plan view for showing a structure of a test piece and FIG.3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIB-IIIB of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A shows a surface analysis result of the test piece of FIGS. 3A,3B by an EPMA, and FIG. 4B shows a state of deposition of the poisoningelement in the test piece of FIGS. 3A, 3B;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the embodiment of the present invention in whichFIG. 5A is a perspective plan view for showing the structure of the gassensor element according to a first modification and FIG. 5B is across-sectional view taken along the line VB-VB of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a graph for showing a change in a gas response property in acycle test for the gas sensor element of FIGS. 5A, 5B along with acomparison with a conventional gas sensor element, and FIG. 6B shows theEPMA result after the cycle test;

FIGS. 7A and 7B show the embodiment of the present invention in whichFIG. 7A is a perspective plan view for showing the structure of the gassensor element according to a second modification and FIG. 7B is across-sectional view taken along the line VIIB-VIIB of FIG. 7A; and

FIGS. 8A and 8B show the embodiment of the present invention in whichFIG. 8A is a perspective plan view for showing the structure of the gassensor element according to a third modification and FIG. 8B is across-sectional view taken along the line VIIIB-VIIIB of FIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A description will be made on an embodiment of the present inventionwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show the structure of a gas sensor element 1 that isincluded in a gas sensor according to this embodiment. The gas sensor isconfigured to enclose the gas sensor element 1 in a housing, forexample. Gas whose concentration is measured by the gas sensor isoxygen, for example. However, the target gas, which is the gas to bemeasured, may be a gas other than oxygen.

The gas sensor element 1 includes a protective layer 11, a solidelectrolyte body 12, a target gas chamber 13, a reference gas chamber14, a target gas side electrode (first electrode) 15, a reference gasside electrode (second electrode) 16, a diffusion layer 17, a heatersubstrate 18, a heater 19, and a shielding layer 20.

The plate-shaped heater substrate 18, the solid electrolyte body 12, thediffusion layer 17, and the shielding layer 20 are laminated from thebottom to the top in this order. The target gas chamber 13 is arectangular space that has a major central axis in a central part on aninterface side with the solid electrolyte body 12 of the diffusion layer17 in a plan view and is formed as a concave space that is depressedfrom the interface side with the solid electrolyte body 12 toward aninner side of the diffusion layer 17. The reference gas chamber 14 is arectangular space that has a major central axis in the same position orin the approximately same position as the major central axis describedabove in a central part on an interface side with the solid electrolytebody 12 of the heater substrate 18 in a plan view and is formed aconcave space that is depressed from the interface side with the solidelectrolyte body 12 toward an inner side of the heater substrate 18. Thetarget gas side electrode 15 is provided to come into contact with asurface of the solid electrolyte body 12 in the target gas chamber 13.The reference gas side electrode 16 is provided to come into contactwith the surface of the solid electrolyte body 12 in the reference gaschamber 14. The solid electrolyte body 12 is held between the target gasside electrode 15 and the reference gas side electrode 16. As shown inFIG. 1A, the target gas side electrode 15 is drawn out of the gas sensorelement 1 in a manner to extend linearly in a longitudinal direction,and the reference gas side electrode 16 is also drawn out of the gassensor element 1 in a manner to extend in the same direction in a planview.

The heater 19 is embedded in a lower part of the heater substrate 18.The protective layer 11 is provided to cover a circumference of theentire laminate described above. Although not shown, windows areprovided to two sides of the protective layer 11 that do not intersectwith the target gas side electrode 15 and the reference gas sideelectrode 16. These windows are provided to take a gas including thetarget gas into the diffusion layer 17 as shown with arrows u, v. Thesides of the protective layer 11 that are provided with the windows andthe diffusion layer 17 are trimmed in a tapered shape so as to face anupstream side from which the gas including the target gas is supplied.

The solid electrolyte body 12 is made of stabilized zirconia (YSZ) inwhich yttria (Y₂O₃) and the like are blended in zirconia (ZrO₂), forexample. The protective layer 11, the diffusion layer 17, the heatersubstrate 18, and the shielding layer 20 are made of alumina (Al₂O₃),for example. The target gas side electrode 15 and the reference gas sideelectrode 16 are made of platinum (Pt), for example. The diffusion layer17 is formed as a porous body.

One or more concave sections 12 a that are depressed from an interfaceside with the diffusion layer 17 toward an inner side of the solidelectrolyte body 12 are provided in the solid electrolyte body 12. Oneor more concave sections 20 a that are depressed from an interface sidewith the diffusion layer 17 toward an inner side of the shielding layer20 are provided in the shielding layer 20. For example, the concavesection 12 a is formed such that a connection surface of the solidelectrolyte body 12 with respect to the interface with the diffusionlayer 17 is orthogonal to the interface, while the concave section 20 ais formed such that a connection surface of the shielding layer 20 withrespect to the interface with the diffusion layer 17 is orthogonal tothe interface. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the concave section 12a and the concave section 20 a are provided to surround thecircumference of the target gas chamber 13 in a plan view. In addition,the concave section 12 a and the concave section 20 a are provided so asnot to overlap with each other in a plan view, for example.

In producing the gas sensor element 1 structured as above, the concavesections 12 a, 20 a are formed by cutting sheets for the solidelectrolyte body 12 and the shielding layer 20 when the sheets areformed before firing. Then, the concave sections 12 a, 20 a arecompleted by firing after a normal laminating process. In the normallaminating process, the structure of the entire laminate structureexcept the protective layer 11 is fired, and the protective layer 11 isthen dipped on the outer side of the fired laminate structure and firedat a lower temperature than a firing temperature of the entire laminatestructure.

Next, operation of the gas sensor element 1 that is structured abovewill be described.

The gas sensor element 1 is arranged so as to be exposed to an exhaustgas flowing through an exhaust gas passage of a vehicle, for example.The protective layer 11 protects the inside of the gas sensor element 1from the surrounding exhaust gas by protecting from a thermal shock andtrapping unnecessary particles in an atmosphere. The exhaust as a gascontaining the target gas is taken into the diffusion layer 17 from thewindows of the protective layer 11. Because the diffusion layer 17 isthe porous body, it functions as a resistance layer. A solution thatcontains a soluble poisoning component may be included in the exhaustgas. While the target gas passes through the porous body toward thetarget gas chamber, the solution containing the poisoning component isdirected to the concave section 12 a and the concave section 20 a by acapillarity phenomenon as it permeates the diffusion layer 17.

Meanwhile, the heater substrate 18 increases the temperature around thetarget gas side electrode 15 and the reference gas side electrode 16 byheating with the heater 19. When the target gas comes into contact withthe target gas side electrode 15 and a reference gas of atmospheric air,for example, comes into contact with the reference gas side electrode16, an electrical current that corresponds to a difference in oxygenconcentration between the target gas and the reference gas flows betweenthe target gas side electrode 15 and the reference gas side electrode 16through the solid electrolyte body 12. Accordingly, the oxygenconcentration of the target gas is detected.

Next, a description is made on a condition in which the solutioncontaining the poisoning component is directed to a concave sectionthrough the diffusion layer. FIG. 2 shows a simulation result of thebehavior of water injected into the diffusion layer with respect to achamber space. The simulation was performed by modeling the structure inwhich the diffusion layer is provided on top of an alumina bulk body andthe chamber (an outer horizontal space of the bulk body in FIG. 2 isdesignated as the chamber) as the concave section is provided in thebulk body. A wall surface of the chamber is orthogonal to an uppersurface of the bulk body. This corresponds to a fact that a connectionsurface of the concave section with respect to an interface between alayer provided with the concave section and the diffusion layer isorthogonal to the interface.

Dotted parts in FIG. 2 contain a substantial amount of water, and it canbe understood that water permeates the porous body of the diffusionlayer and sufficiently reaches the wall surface of the chamber. Injectedwater is absorbed by a porous space of the diffusion layer by thecapillarity phenomenon. Meanwhile, because the wall surface of thechamber is orthogonal to the upper surface of the bulk body, a vectorcomponent for discharging water from the porous space to the chamber asan opened space becomes extremely large. Accordingly, water seeps downthe wall surface such that it is discharged from the diffusion layer tothe chamber. This seeping effect of water into the chamber is increasedas an angle formed by the wall surface of the chamber (thus theconnection surface of the concave section) to the upper surface (thusthe interface) of the bulk body approximates 90 degrees. Water reachesthe wall surface of the chamber under no influence of its gravity.Therefore, the same simulation result can be obtained even when thechamber is present in a position other than that under the diffusionlayer, such as above the diffusion layer. In the wall surface of thechamber, the amount of water gradually decreases in a direction of anarrow. Consequently, it was confirmed that water from the diffusionlayer seeped into the chamber space and expanded through the wallsurface of the chamber.

Next, the verification of an effect of providing the concave sectionwill be described.

FIGS. 3A, 3B show the structure of a test piece 21 that was used toverify the effect of the concave section.

The test piece 21 is structured such that an alumina layer 22, analumina layer 23, a diffusion layer 24, and an alumina layer 25 arelaminated from the bottom to the top in this order. A chamber 26 formedof a concave section is provided in the alumina layer 23. The chamber 26contacts the alumina layer 22 at a lower layer side and the diffusionlayer 24 at an upper layer side. Accordingly, a wall surface of thechamber 26 is configured by a side wall of the alumina layer 23, and abottom surface of the chamber 26 is configured by an upper surface ofthe alumina layer 22.

A cycle test (acceleration test) for repeating a cycle in which watercontaining poisoning element ions was dropped from a side surface of thediffusion layer 24 to the test piece 21 as shown by an arrow in FIG. 3Band was then dried in the atmosphere for a plurality of times wasperformed. FIG. 4A shows a surface analysis result obtained by anelectron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) that a poisoning element 30 isdeposited in the chamber 26 with an increase in the number of cycles. Asa result, it was confirmed that the poisoning element 30 was hardlydeposited at first in an area at the bottom of the chamber 26 that wassurrounded by a dashed-dotted line; however, the deposition of thepoisoning element 30 progressed with the increase in the number ofcycles.

FIG. 4B is a scanning electron microscopic (SEM) picture that shows astate of deposition of the poisoning element 30. The poisoning element30 was deposited significantly at the end of the chamber. In addition,the results shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B were obtained in a case where the testpiece 21 faced either upward or downward and in a case where the testpiece 21 was inclined to a vertical direction, that is, regardless ofthe orientation of the test piece 21.

As described above, the gas sensor element 1 according to thisembodiment catches a soluble poisoning substance contained in theexhaust gas with the concave section provided in at least one of thelayers that come into contact with the lower layer and upper layer ofthe diffusion layer. In other words, the soluble poisoning substance canbe caught by the concave section that is provided in at least one of theshielding layer 20 and the solid electrolyte body 12 that come intocontact with the diffusion layer 17 and hold the diffusion layer 17therebetween. Accordingly, it is possible to remove adverse influencethe target gas that responds to the electrode on the atmosphere. Morespecifically, the poisoning substance in the exhaust gas or thepoisoning substance adhered to the protective layer 11 dissolves inwater supplied by the surrounding environment of the gas sensor element1, permeates the diffusion layer 17 by the capillarity phenomenon, andis caught and retained in the concave sections 12 a, 20 a as openspaces. Accordingly, the poisoning substance is not retained in an areafrom the surface of the protective layer 11 to the inside of thediffusion layer 17 or does not reach the target gas chamber 13 to soil atarget gas electrode, and thus a measuring environment is not damaged.Therefore, because there is no deterioration with time, which could becaused by the poisoning, it is possible to restrict occurrence ofabnormality that may be set by the regulation of an exhaust gas system.In addition, because the frequency of part replacement caused bydegraded functions of the gas sensor element is reduced, it issignificantly advantageous in terms of cost. Furthermore, because theaccumulation amount of the poisoning substance that adheres to the innersurface of the concave section is much smaller than a volume of theconcave section, a life cycle of the gas sensor is not shortened by theexcessive accumulation of the poisoning substance. Moreover, it ispossible to reduce anxiety and gain trust of consumers.

It should be noted that only one of the concave section 12 a and theconcave section 20 a may be provided in the gas sensor element 1 inFIG. 1. In addition, like the diffusion layer 17 that has two paths of atake-in path in the arrow u side and a take-in path in the arrow v sidein FIG. 1, for example, plural gas diffusion paths can be providedseparately. For example, if at least one concave section is provided ineach of the gas diffusion paths, the poisoning substance that permeatesthe diffusion layer 17 can be retained uniformly.

FIGS. 5A, 5B show the structure of a gas sensor element 2 according to afirst modification. Components of the gas sensor element 2 thatcorrespond to those of the gas sensor element 1 in FIG. 1 are denoted bythe same reference numerals, and their description is not repeated.

The gas sensor element 2 is configured such that a strip-shaped concavesection 12 b is provided on the diffusion layer 17 side in the solidelectrolyte body 12. The strip-shaped concave section 12 b is arrangedin both of two exhaust gas take-in sides and is located between thetarget gas chamber 13 and the exhaust gas take-in side, (positions nearexhaust gas take-in points) that are away from the target gas chamber13. More specifically, the two concave sections 12 b are provided: oneof which corresponds to the gas diffusion path provided from a chamberside wall 13 a that faces one of the exhaust gas take-in sides of thetarget gas chamber 13 to the target gas chamber 13 (that is, the take-inpath in the arrow u side); and the other of which corresponds to the gasdiffusion path provided from a chamber side wall 13 b that faces theother of the exhaust gas take-in sides of the target gas chamber 13 tothe target gas chamber 13 (that is, the take-in path in the arrow vside). The gas sensor element 2 has the same structure as the gas sensorelement 1 except the above.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the concave sections 12 b are provided in parallelor substantially in parallel with the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b thatface the exhaust gas take-in sides of the target gas chamber 13, forexample. The gas sensor element 2 is not provided with the concavesection on the outer side of the side wall of the target gas chamber 13that is orthogonal to the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b. However, whenthe exhaust gas take-in sides are seen from the target gas chamber 13 ina plan view, the areas covered by the concave sections 12 b in theparallel direction with the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b correspond toa range L. A range W that corresponds to a width of each of the chamberside walls 13 a, 13 b of the target gas chamber 13 is contained in thisrange L. In other words, when the target gas take-in side is seen fromthe target gas chamber 13 in a plan view, and the length of the wallsurface of the target gas chamber 13 that faces the target gas take-inside is set as a chamber width, the length of the concave section 12 bin a direction of the chamber width is longer than the chamber width ofthe target gas chamber 13. In this case, an exhaust gas take-indirection is present on the plane in the same plan view. When the rangeW is contained in the range L, there is hardly any poisoning substancethat goes around and permeates the target gas chamber 13 in theorthogonal direction to the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b, and thus itis difficult for the poisoning substance to reach the target gas chamber13 without passing through the diffusion area where the concave sections12 b are located. Therefore, a probability of the poisoning substancethat passes through the diffusion layer to be caught in the concavesection before reaching the target gas chamber 13 is increased. In thegas sensor element 1 of FIG. 1, the concave sections 12 a, 20 a arearranged such that the range W is inevitably contained in the range L.Even if the range W is not contained in the range L, a probability ofthe concave sections 12 b to catch the poisoning substance is increasedas long as the range L is substantially the same as the range W.

In FIG. 5B, two or more of the concave sections 12 b may be provided foreach of the take-in passages that are shown with the arrows u, v. Inthis case, when each of the gas take-in sides is seen from the targetgas chamber 13, the ranges of the concave sections 12 b for each of thetake-in paths in parallel with the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b in aplan view are formed in series along the parallel direction, therebyforming a total range L (the same concept as the total range L in FIGS.7A and 8A described below). In this case, if the range W is contained inthe range L, the possibility of the concave sections 12 b to catch thepoisoning substance is increased similarly.

FIG. 5B shows a shape of the wall surface of the concave section 12 bthat is perpendicular to the interface with the diffusion layer 17.Because a three-phase interface is formed, it is possible to improve aneffect of trapping the poisoning substance.

An effect of poisoning resistance of the gas sensor element 2, which wasconfigured as above, was verified. Similar to the test piece 21described above, the cycle test (acceleration test) for repeating acycle in which a solution with the dissolved poisoning substance wasbrought into contact with (was injected into) a portion of the diffusionlayer 17 positioned at the center in the longitudinal direction of thechamber from the outside of the element by a micro syringe and was thendried for the plurality of times was performed for the verification.

FIG. 6A shows a change in a gas response property per cycle when thecycle test was conducted for five cycles. An upper stage of FIG. 6Ashows a gas response property M of a conventional gas sensor elementthat is not provided with the concave section, and a lower stage thereofshows the gas response property N of the gas sensor element 2. Ahorizontal axis represents time, and a vertical axis represents detectedconcentration of the target gas. It is shown that response delaysaccumulate and a response waveform is collapsed as the number of cyclesincreases in the gas response property M. On the other hand, regardlessof the number of cycles, the gas response property N exhibits stable andsharp responses. It was confirmed from this result that the structure ofthe gas sensor element 2 sufficiently functioned to catch the poisoningsubstance and effective to maintain a sensor characteristic.

FIG. 6B shows a surface analysis result by the EPMA after the cycletest. In the analysis result, the deposition of the poisoning element 30is clearly confirmed, and thus the result supports a fact that the gassensor element 2 can sufficiently catch the poisoning substance.

FIGS. 7A, 7B show the structure of a gas sensor element 3 according to asecond modification. Components of the gas sensor element 3 thatcorrespond to those of the gas sensor element 1 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and their description is not repeated.

The gas sensor element 3 is provided with a plurality of concavesections 12 c on the surface of the solid electrolyte body 12 that comesinto contact with the diffusion layer 17. The concave sections 12 c arearranged around the target gas chamber 13 in a plan view.

Each of the concave sections 12 c has a range t in the paralleldirection with the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b that respectivelycorrespond to the take-in path shown with the arrow u and the take-inpath shown with the arrow v. When each of the gas take-in sides is seenfrom the target gas chamber 13, the concave sections 12 c are arrangedat specified intervals in the parallel direction, and the ranges inwhich the concave sections 12 c are arranged correspond to the range L.This range L contains the range W that is the width of the chamber sidewalls 13 a, 13 b.

FIG. 7B shows an example in which an angle of the wall surface of theconcave section 12 c to the interface of the solid electrolyte body 12with the diffusion layer 17 is 90 degrees or approximately 90 degrees.

FIGS. 8A, 8B show the structure of a gas sensor element 4 according to athird modification. Components of the gas sensor element 4 thatcorrespond to those of the gas sensor element 1 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and their description is not repeated.

The gas sensor element 4 is provided with a plurality of concavesections 12 d on the surface of the solid electrolyte body 12 that comesinto contact with the diffusion layer 17. The concave sections 12 d arearranged around the target gas chamber 13 in a plan view.

Each of the concave sections 12 d has a range t in the paralleldirection with the chamber side walls 13 a, 13 b that respectivelycorrespond to the take-in path shown with the arrow u and the take-inpath shown with the arrow v. When each of the gas take-in sides is seenfrom the target gas chamber 13, the concave sections 12 d are arrangedat specified intervals in the parallel direction, and the ranges inwhich the concave sections 12 d are arranged correspond to the range L.This range L contains the range W that is the width of the chamber sidewalls 13 a, 13 b.

The present invention can be applied to a gas sensor or the like that isused for combustion control of an exhaust system in a vehicle.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A gas sensor element for detecting a concentration of a target gas, comprising: an electrolyte body; a target gas chamber to which the target gas is introduced; a reference gas chamber to which a reference gas that serves as basis of the concentration of the target gas is introduced; a first electrode provided in the target gas chamber so as to come into contact with the electrolyte body; a second electrode provided in the reference gas chamber so as to come into contact with the electrolyte body, the electrolyte body being held between the first electrode and the second electrode; a diffusion layer arranged to come into contact with the electrolyte body and delivering the target gas to the target gas chamber; and a shielding layer arranged to come into contact with the diffusion layer such that the diffusion layer is arranged between the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, wherein at least one of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer is provided with a concave section that is depressed from a surface contacting the diffusion layer, wherein a portion of the diffusion layer is arranged between the target gas chamber and the shielding layer, wherein the concave section is provided to surround the target gas chamber in a plan view, and wherein the concave section is formed by cutting at least one of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer.
 2. The gas sensor element according to claim 1, wherein when a target gas take-in side that takes in the target gas is seen from the target gas chamber in the plan view, and a length of a wall surface of the target gas chamber that faces the target gas take-in side is set as a chamber width, a range of the concave section in a direction of the chamber width contains a range in the chamber width.
 3. The gas sensor element according to claim 2, wherein a surface of the diffusion layer in the target gas take-in side is trimmed in a tapered shape to face an upstream side of the target gas.
 4. The gas sensor element according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface of the concave section is perpendicular to an interface thereof with the diffusion layer.
 5. The gas sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the target gas chamber is a rectangular space that has a major central axis in a central part on an interface side with the electrolyte body of the diffusion layer in the plan view and is formed to be depressed from the interface side with the electrolyte body toward an inner side of the diffusion layer.
 6. The gas sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the concave section is provided in a strip shape in parallel with a side wall of the target gas chamber that faces a target gas take-in side in the plan view.
 7. The gas sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the concave section is provided in both of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, and the concave sections are provided not to overlap with each other in the plan view.
 8. A gas sensor comprising the gas sensor element according to claim
 1. 9. The gas sensor element according to claim 6, wherein the concave section is provided in both of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, and the concave sections are provided not to overlap with each other in the plan view.
 10. A gas sensor element for detecting a concentration of a target gas, comprising: an electrolyte body; a target gas chamber to which the target gas is introduced; a reference gas chamber to which a reference gas that serves as basis of the concentration of the target gas is introduced; a first electrode provided in the target gas chamber so as to come into contact with the electrolyte body; a second electrode provided in the reference gas chamber so as to come into contact with the electrolyte body, the electrolyte body being held between the first electrode and the second electrode; a diffusion layer arranged to come into contact with the electrolyte body and delivering the target gas to the target gas chamber; and a shielding layer arranged to come into contact with the diffusion layer such that the diffusion layer is arranged between the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, wherein at least one of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer is provided with a concave section, the concave section being configured such that a poisoning substance is retained in the concave section, the concave section being configured to be depressed from a surface contacting the diffusion layer, wherein a portion of the diffusion layer is arranged between the target gas chamber and the shielding layer, wherein the concave section is provided to surround the target gas chamber in a plan view, and wherein the concave section is formed by cutting at least one of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer.
 11. The gas sensor element according to claim 10, wherein when a target gas take-in side that takes in the target gas is seen from the target gas chamber in the plan view, and a length of a wall surface of the target gas chamber that faces the target gas take-in side is set as a chamber width, a range of the concave section in a direction of the chamber width contains a range in the chamber width.
 12. The gas sensor element according to claim 11, wherein a surface of the diffusion layer in the target gas take-in side is trimmed in a tapered shape to face an upstream side of the target gas.
 13. The gas sensor element according to claim 10, wherein a wall surface of the concave section is perpendicular to an interface thereof with the diffusion layer.
 14. The gas sensor element according to claim 10, wherein the target gas chamber is a rectangular space that has a major central axis in a central part on an interface side with the electrolyte body of the diffusion layer in the plan view and is formed to be depressed from the interface side with the electrolyte body toward an inner side of the diffusion layer.
 15. The gas sensor element according to claim 10, wherein the concave section is provided in a strip shape in parallel with a side wall of the target gas chamber that faces a target gas take-in side in the plan view.
 16. The gas sensor element according to claim 10, wherein the concave section is provided in both of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, and the concave sections are provided not to overlap with each other in the plan view.
 17. A gas sensor comprising the gas sensor element according to claim
 11. 18. The gas sensor element according to claim 15, wherein the concave section is provided in both of the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, and the concave sections are provided not to overlap with each other in the plan view.
 19. A gas sensor element comprising: an electrolyte body including a first surface and a second surface; a first electrode provided in a target gas chamber arranged on the first surface; a second electrode provided on the second surface; a diffusion layer arranged with respect to the first surface, the diffusion layer and the electrolyte body being configured to store the electrode; and a shielding layer arranged to come into contact with the diffusion layer such that the diffusion layer is arranged between the electrolyte body and the shielding layer, wherein the electrolyte body includes a concave section on a surface that contacts the diffusion layer, the concave section being configured to open toward the diffusion layer, wherein a portion of the diffusion layer is arranged between the shielding layer and the target gas chamber, wherein the concave section is provided to surround the target gas chamber in a plan view, and wherein the concave section is formed by cutting the electrolyte body. 